Hunt, 28, is preparing for his first season as the football coach at Maryville — his alma mater — knowing the expectations of being at the school.

The program has 15 state championships, which is tied with rival Alcoa for the most in TSSAA history. George Quarles, the man Hunt replaced, won 11 of those titles as the Rebels' coach the past 18 seasons.

"If I was going to be the head coach at Maryville, I would have thought it would have been way down the road," Hunt said.

Things changed quickly, though.

Quarles announced his resignation in December to become the associate head coach and tight ends coach at Furman, his college alma mater. He finished with a 250-16 record at Maryville and was the fastest coach in U.S. high school football history to win 200 games.

"Coach Quarles set the bar so high," Hunt said. "And he did it in such a classy way.

"I'm blessed to have been able to learn from him. But I'm probably always going to be compared to him — win or lose. That's OK. You take that job, knowing that's going to be the case."

Hunt was named the next Maryville coach a week after Quarles' resignation. Hunt said the coaching staff's input was critical to him being named the next coach. All were talked to by the Maryville administration.

"It's incredible how close our staff is," Hunt said. "Our principal and director of schools met with every single coach on staff, just to see what was our next step.

"By the time I went in to interview two days later, I was in there for 10 minutes. I really felt like the staff had interviewed for me."

Nobody left the coaching staff after Quarles departure.

"That never happens," Hunt said.

It does at Maryville, where coaching turnover was virtually non-existent during Quarles' tenure. It helped keep a cohesive program.

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Maryville coach George Quarles talks to quarterback Derek Hunt between plays in a game in 2005.(Photo: Amy Smotherman-Burgess / News Sentinel)

But now it's Hunt's time. Hunt is a former Maryville quarterback, graduating in 2007. He played quarterback in two of the Rebels' championships.

He went on to play football at Maryville College and then joined the Rebels' staff, where he has been the quarterbacks coach.

"He and Coach Quarles were pretty tight with the offense," said Maryville quarterback Dylan Hopkins, a UAB commitment. "It was huge for him to be the next coach.

"Everything he's coached me, we're still going to do that in every aspect. I think for the most part everything will be the same. I think we'll throw in a couple new things."

Hunt and Quarles still talk often. It might be about strategy or about paperwork.

And they talk every Wednesday for a golf game where they pick a golfer for the upcoming PGA tournament.

"I miss him a lot. He's like a father figure to me. My first couple of years on staff, he'd have me over to have dinner with his family.

"Just me. He's pretty special to me."

Reach Tom Kreager at tkreager@tennessean.com and 615-259-8089 or on Twitter @Kreager.